The Kasbah Band/ Sounds of Morocco August 28, 2006 Kennedy Center Millenium Stage
This Moroccan band play traditional as well as modern Moroccan music that is derived from Arabic, Jewish, sub-Saharan, and Spanish influences. They also explore the origins of Flamenco music. Part of the Genesis at the Crossroads cultural exchange program, ARTSLINK, 2006 Governor’s International Arts Exchange Program Grant Recipient.
Chicago Classical Oriental Ensemble February 20, 2006 Kennedy Center Millenium Stage
Xauen Music presents Chicago Classical Oriental Ensemble, comprised of musicians from the U.S., Morocco, Egypt, Syria, Palestine, Israel, and France, performs “The Songs of Sayyed Darweesh: Soul of a People.”
Genesis at the Crossroads presents Chicago Classical Oriental Ensemble August 31, 2005 Kennedy Center Millenium Stage
Genesis at the Crossroads presents Chicago Classical Oriental Ensemble consists of musicians from the U.S., Morocco, Egypt, Syria, Palestine, Israel, and France, and performs North African, Middle Eastern, Turkish, Armenian, Sepharadic music, introducing audiences to the major genres of Arabic music: the maqams, taqasim, and iqa'at.
Anissa et Marsdrive (Kennedy
Center Millenium Stage Thursday, Jan 29, 2004) Anissa et Marsdrive, from
Rennes, fuse an electronic cocktail lounge sound with the eastern-edged vocals
of Moroccan singer Anissa.
DuOud , Natacha Atlas July 17, 2003 Kennedy Center Millenium Stage
The two oud-playing Parisians of DuOud combine their North African heritage with the latest in Western technology. Natacha Atlas follows blending her unfettered talent (dance and song) and the complexities of Arabic musical theory into a burst of sound that is thrilling, immediate and evocative. Vive La World! Tour
Hassan Hakmoun (Kennedy
Center performance of July 17, 2002), originally from Morocco, is currently
a New York-based musician who will take you for a sizzling foray into the
mysterious world of the Gnawa. Former slaves originally from the Sudan who
travelled to Morocco and converted to Islam, the Gnawa people of Morocco serve
as intermediaries in the spirit world and also as entertainers. Hassan was
raised in Marrakech and began to study the healing rituals of tagnawit, the
Gnawa-related arts and lore, at a young age. His travels led him to Europe
and the U.S. and eventually to participate in several WOMAD tours, recordings
with his fusion group Zahar and work with Peter Gabriel. The Fire Within is
Hassan's first traditional-based musical project, featuring the sintir, a
three-stringed bass lute. Clear, balanced melodies and driving, syncopated
rhythms make the music appealing to Western listeners. Several of the songs
on this recording are taken from different parts of the derdeba, a trance
ritual held to placate spirits that inhabit people or places. Deeply entrancing,
The Fire Within hit the European world music charts within a week of its release
(MOTW135 CD only).
Sawt el Atlas (Voices of the Atlas) (Kennedy
Center performance of July 11, 2001) blends traditional music with rai,
reggae, funk and Latino beats. The original line-up of Sawt el Atlas consisted
of three brothers from each of two families, the Mirghanis (originally from
Southern Morocco) and the El Habchis (from Casablanca). They were later joined
by four other musicians. Lead singers Kamel and Mounir and their brothers
grew up in the suburbs of Blois, in the center of France. They were just 12
when they started to tour the country in the early nineties with the support
of the famous mayor of Blois, Jack Lang, who is also the former French Minister
of Culture and founder of FranceÆs national day of music. Sawt el Atlas
has played at many festivals in France, Holland and Germany (the Rennes Transmusicales,
the La Rochelle Fancofolies, the Printemps de Bourges, the Arezzo Festival,
the Tilburg Festival, the Roskilde Festival, etc.), and they have supported
a number of major artists on tour (Massilia Sound System, Khaled, Cheb Mami,
Keziah Jones, Tonton David, etc.). In 1996, after more than 200 performances,
they released their first CD, entitled "Generaliser" a lively album
swept along by its Arabic-French lyrics.
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